Naman Shrestha
In early December 2011, Banika Jones received a phone call from her brother and got to know that her 2-year-old daughter, Bianca Lily Jones, was abducted by somebody. While the Detroit-based mother’s life turned upside down, the news sent shockwaves across the community. Discovery+’s ‘Deadliest Mums & Dads: A Father’s Deception’ covers all the intricate details surrounding the mysterious case, focusing on the prosecutors’ reasons for conviction and the perpetrator’s claims of innocence.
What Happened to Bianca Lily Jones?
When both of them were around 12 years old, D’Andre “Dre” Lane met Banika Jones for the first time through the latter’s young uncle, who was a close friend of Dre. They all went to the same high school and when they reached their teens, Dre and Banika began dating each other. However, Dre had a rather troubled situation at his home as there was a history of addiction in his family. Over the next decade, their relationship saw several on-and-off phases, during which Banika even went to work in the army for four years. When they were just friends with benefits, Banika unexpectedly became pregnant with Dre’s child around the age of 30.
On a side note, Dre had already become a father to seven different kids from seven different women. One of them even got a protective order against him because of domestic violence. At the time, he had been living with his then-fiancé alongside some of his children, including a daughter who was of the same age as Bianca. While Banika was in search of a new job to provide for Bianca and her future, she requested Dre to keep their 2-year-old daughter with him from late November 2011 until Christmas. Agreeing to do so, he picked up Bianca on November 26, 2011.
A few days later, Dre called Banika to ask if he could come over the following day to get more clothes for the baby. She told him that he could but she wouldn’t be at home. The next day, on December 2, Banika got a call from her brother who informed her about Bianca’s abduction and disappearance. Shocked and concerned about her daughter’s safety, she was taken aback by the news. It didn’t take long for Dre to reach Banika’s residence and claim that he was carjacked while Bianca was in the backseat. Without wasting any more time, the authorities were involved and they focused on the neighborhood where Dre was carjacked.
Just half an hour into the investigation, Dre’s car was found abandoned in a secluded alley, but there was no sign of Bianca, whose car seat was neatly made with a blanket on top in the backseat. When the detectives interrogated Dre about the entire incident, he claimed that while driving to Banika’s house, he was carjacked by a group of men at gunpoint, and they fled the scene with Bianca still in the backseat of the car. The investigators found a few holes in his story as a regular carjacker, according to them, would have simply ditched the car with the child still inside. Moreover, the fact that the blanket was perfectly laid over the car seat seemed to raise suspicion as well.
When asked about the night before the alleged carjacking, Dre told the police that he was playing video games with his nephew when Bianca wet her pants around 1 am. After cleaning her up, he put her back to sleep and went to sleep himself around 3 or 4 am. When the time came to take his other kids to school the next morning, one of them claimed that Bianca was sleepy and slept through the entire car ride to their school. After dropping off the kids at school, he was heading towards Banika’s place and that was when the carjacking incident occurred. Soon, a particularly suspicious revelation against Dre was made by the members who resided with him.
Dre reportedly was highly strict and demanded his kids to be disciplined at all times, especially issues related to potty training. Reports suggest that he owned a paddle with which he used to beat his children when they crossed a line. His then-fiancé claimed to have heard Dre punishing Bianca as the latter screamed louder than usual. In a few months’ time, on March 14, 2012, the police charged Dre with the murder of his daughter and arrested him. The authorities believed that Bianca was beaten severely with the paddle by Dre and died in her sleep later. The next morning, they thought that he disposed of her body in a dumpster.
D’Andre “Dre” Lane is Still Behind Bars
In September 2012, D’Andre “Dre” Lane’s trial for the murder of his daughter Bianca Lily Jones commenced. While the prosecution was hell-bent on proving that she was actually dead, his defense argued that there was no evidence whatsoever to support their claims. During the trial, a surprise witness — who was a police officer herself — testified in favor of Dre, claiming that she had seen Bianca alive in a house, eight days after her disappearance. However, it turned out to be another girl of the same age and appearance as Bianca.
Despite the attempts of the defense, the jury convicted Dre and sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of Bianca plus 11-30 years for child abuse conviction. Following the sentencing, Dre and his defense appealed, but their appeal was denied in 2014. In 2018, Dre conversed with the Local 4 Defenders expressing his opinions while being behind bars. He said, “No one has evidence that my daughter is dead. My daughter is alive. She is missing. She will be found. Imagine if you were a victim of a crime and you got charged with the crime.”
Dre continued, “And because you got charged with a crime, there was nobody out there trying to find the truth.” In January 2018, Dre even put up an age progression photo of what her long-lost daughter would look like in hopes that someone would spot her. Currently, he is serving his life sentence at Thumb Correctional Facility at 3225 John Conley Drive in Lapeer, Michigan. To this day, he sticks to his carjacking story and hasn’t wavered at all, while claiming to be innocent.
Banika Jones Continues to Hope For Her Daughter’s Return
As far as Banika Jones is concerned, she is still hopeful that Bianca is alive and well somewhere while believing that Dre is innocent. In 2018, Banika also talked about her daughter with the Local 4 Defenders, saying, “My daughter’s out there. I’m going to find her. I’m going to bring her home. I hope that if somebody sold her, they sold her to a family that wanted the kid, and if they hid her somewhere, they hid her with somebody that’s taking good care of her. I just hope that one day that person will decide that it’s time to tell the truth.” In her mid-40s as of writing, she has seemingly stayed in touch with her former husband while keeping a low profile and looking for her daughter.
Read More: Angelo and Catherine Abdela: Where Are Daphne Abdela’s Parents Now?
